This post is a continuation of last week's post on early Kodak cameras. Suzie Johnson left a comment that she thought the Kodak girl with stripes looked like a Gibson Girl. I'm not familiar with Gibson Girls, but Martha Cooper has an explanation about the stripes on her Kodak Girl site.

1921 cover of the Kodak Supplies Catalog (www.kodakgirl.com)

This photo of a red-striped Kodak Girl was used in the 1909 issue of Scribner's magazine.

It was also used in this Australian box of Kodak's glass Orthochrome plates.

From the www.kodakgirl collection

What I found ingenious with the Kodak cameras was the way you could process the film at home without a darkroom.

1902 ad in Country Life in America courtesy of Duke University Digital Collections

One of the main selling points of the Kodak camera was that you could develop the film at your own convenience, wherever and whenever you wanted. This 1912 ad in Munsey's shows a woman processing her photographs outside, possibly in her garden or even a public park.

1912 ad in Munsey's, courtesy of Duke University Digital Collections

In 1908, Youth's Companion ran this ad with children not only taking the photographs, but developing the film as well. However, even with instructions and proper measuring tools, the thought of children using chemicals like these is scarier than the creature they're photographing.

The ads showed women in all walks of life taking photos of anything that caught their interest. Some of the ads would encourage women to take photographs with a mind toward selling them like this 1911 ad in Uncle Remus' Home Magazine.

1911 ad in Uncle Remus' Home Magazine, courtesy of Duke University Digital Collections

Ads of home life depicted women talking photos of their children with their pets, and then putting them in Kodak supplied albums for display as well as safekeeping. In this ad from Youth's Companion, the mother gets down to baby's level instead of putting baby on a table and standing back, out of arms' reach, like so many other ads show.

As printing advanced where they could publish photographs instead of black and white drawings, magazines switched to real photograhs. Much of the subject matter was the same however, with women on the move like this ad in a 1912 Ladies' Home Journal, a favourite theme.

1912 Ladies' Home Journal courtesy of Duke University Digital Collections

Although the majority of the ads show young women with their cameras, this next ad from Collier's Weekly displays a group of interested people of mixed ages and genders surrounding a woman with her Kodak.

Men were also shown driving motorcars or at military and sporting events like this one from an unknown magazine where he's writing on the negative of his Autographic camera about the photo he's just taken.

1910 Man using a Kodak Autographic camera, courtesy of Duke University Digital Collections

And if you don't know what an Autographic camera is, read this next 1915 ad in Woman's Home Companion and it will tell you everything except who thought up this ingenious camera. I always wondered how some of the amateur postcards and photographs had information written in white.

1915 Autographic ad in Woman's Home Companion, courtesy of Duke University Digital Collections

George Eastman was a salesman foremost. He ran one of the most successful marketing campaigns in history. I believe it's because he knew what made people tick and how to touch their hearts. That's shown by the use of women and children in the ads. And when the war began, he reminded people - rightfully so - that soldiers needed to know someone back home was thinking and praying for them.

1917 ad courtesy of Duke University Digital Collections

I could have chosen several photos of soldiers sitting around campfires, enjoying mail call, etc, but I think this poignant one here says it all. Memories fade with time, but a photograph was a tangible reminder of why he was so far from home fighting people he never met.

1917 McClure's courtesy of Duke University Digital Collections

I'll end this post with one of my favourite early Kodak ads from the back cover of a 1925 National Geographic. I probably like this photo so much because I'm filled with anticipation of my own train ride this summer where I'll travel in a roomette similar to this one, with my good friend, Suzie Johnson. We climb aboard at Seattle and take the Coast Starlight down to the 2012 Romance Writers of America conference in Anaheim, CA. I'm very excited about the 20 hr train ride. And yes, I will be bringing my camera with me except it's not a Kodak - it's a Nikon. Shhhhhhhhh...

Back cover of a 1925 National Geographic, courtesy of http://mcnygenealogy.com

Well, any thoughts - either about the Kodak marketing campaign or the cameras themselves? Did you learn anything interesting from this post?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GIVEAWAY Winner's Choice!Leave a comment with a valid email address by midnight, June 3rdto be entered in a draw for a book from my giveaway pile.If you're the winner, I'll email you the list and you can pick.

The pile contains an assortment of books including inspirationals, mainstream, autobiographies, self-help, devotionals and children's books, all new.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In recent weeks I've shown my Finnish heritage in photos and memoirs, and although I haven't spoken of my husband's ancestry, I've shown items belonging to his namesake, Uncle Nelson. This week I want to show a shared passion - photography. If you've followed any of my blogs, you know I'm never without a camera and take pictures of everything. What I didn't realize when I started posting my family history was that my grandfather, known as Pappa, was a professional photographer before he left Finland. Couple that with the knowledge that my mother started taking pictures as a teenager, and you see where my love for the hobby comes from. Although I'd love to claim this early 1900's photo as one from my family history, I'm actually using it with permission from the collection of www.kodakgirl.com.See the camera the girl is holding? It's a Kodak 3A Pocket Camera. And that's the one that brings Nelson's family history in line with mine since he's the one with that particular model. His father, Wayne Draper, passed it on down from his father, Noah Draper. Nelson also received a box of letters written by his grandfather, Noah Draper, to Ethel Nelson, the woman he would later marry. The letters and photos start in 1911 and carry through WW1. I'll be featuring them in a future blogpost. For today, I'll start with some photos of the camera.

1911 Kodak 3A Pocket Camera

1911 Kodak 3A Pocket Camera

1911 Kodak 3A Pocket Camera

A bit of history on Kodak... In 1888, Kodak was the first company to mass produce a camera. Called, the Kodak Camera, it came loaded with enough film for 100 pictures and claimed that anyone could use it without instructions.

To prove their point, Kodak began an ad compaign using women which would continue for decades. Called Kodak girls, the ads featured women in normal walks of life using cameras. What I dislike about the ad campaign is that it shows the women of that era as being so simple-minded even they can use the camera.

1888, The 1st Kodak camera and Kitty Cramer, the 1st Kodak Girl

What I found fascinating about these ads is that it features active women doing things outside the home. They're always on the go, taking photos of all kinds of interesting people and things.

A Kodak Girl on the go carrying a Folding Pocket Kodak camera.

In the above ad, the Kodak girl is carrying a folding pocket camera similar to the Model 3A that Nelson received. I think she looks great!And here's a fun bit of research...

Kodak’s Harrow factory was in use from 1891 for emulsion-making, paper-coating and for the processing and printing of customers’ films. In this view, taken soon after its opening, female employees are seen printing negatives by sunlight in the upper gallery of Building 1.

The egg-white needed to coat albumen paper for contact printing was supplied by a flock of a hundred chickens kept on the site.

Considering that Kodak has been in the news lately because of it's financial woes, I found it bittersweet to research their successful early stategies which benefited so many people. I wish they had been able to continue. And I thank George Eastman for making his vision a reality for the common person. Do you have a camera? What was your first one and what kind do you have now?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GIVEAWAY Winner's Choice!Leave a comment with a valid email address by midnight, May 27th to be entered in a draw for a book from my giveaway pile.If you're the winner, I'll email you the list and you can pick.

The pile contains an assortment of books including inspirationals, mainstream, autobiographies, self-help, devotionals and children's books, all new.

And maybe even a Dean Koontz novel, What the Night Knows, if it's still available.May 23 UPDATEThe children's books are all gone, but the Dean Koontz novel is still available.

Winner beware! The fiction books are a mix of inspirational and mainstream and may contain scenes offensive to some people - which is why I don't want to keep them. But I'm just guessing because I haven't read them.

Cat, Dog or Pony?

What's your history with pets?This early 50's photo of Uncle Paul, my mom's brother, gave me the idea for a post on pets - those animals we've loved and shared our homes with. Although I don't know the names of Uncle Paul's cat and dog, they look similar to ones I've shared companionship with in the photos below of my childhood.This photo reminds me of the dog Mamma and Pappa had during my visits with them. They called him Koira (with a rolled 'r'). I thought it was a beautiful name until Mamma said Koira is really the word 'dog' in the Finn language. Another photo of Paul when he was even younger, is the one below where he's standing with Valentine, a milk calf, who was only a couple days old.

Young Paul with Valentine who was a couple days old when this was taken.

Back in the late '60s we lived in Port Arthur, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) at the head of Lake Superior. The summer before I turned 12 we moved to a farm 7 miles out and that's where the following photos were taken.When we lived in town, Dad had bought us mini-bike, but we weren't allowed to drive it. Within a few weeks of moving to the farm, he'd traded the mini-bike to the neighbours for a pony.

Anita Mae, 12 yrs old

Flicka was a Shetland pony and because Dad brought her home the day before my 12th birthday, I always - secretly - considered her my horse. It was just as well because none of the other kids wanted to ride or take care of her. It was possible they didn't want to put up with her antics. When I look at the above photo now, I see that I was kind of big for her, but at the time she seemed the perfect size. Except for her width. Shetlands are known for their wide bellies, which is why many people buy the narrower Welsh ponies for their kids. Sheltlands are also known for their...ah... not-so-nice dispostion. This proved true when Flicka put up such a fuss whenever I tried to give her the bit and then saddle her. I can't tell you how many times she nearly stepped on my toes while I was trying to tighten up the cinch. And that was another thing - I never could get the cinch tight enough because she extended her belly and then seemed to suck it in later when I was bouncing around on her back. Flicka never ran, she trotted everywhere and I'm sure I looked like a sack of potatoes up there. She almost lost me and the saddle a few times. But what I really didn't like was when she turned her head to snap at my knees without warning. All things considered though, I had a horse and wasn't about to complain about it.

Buttons in front with Peter 4, Bonnie 14, and Anita Mae 12,

The cat in this photo is Buttons. I remember someone handing Buttons to me on one of our moving trips to the farm. I was told to put a towel over her head so that she couldn't see where we were taking her or she'd try to make her way back home. Buttons was a short-haired domestic with a nice disposition. Although I'm not a cat person, I didn't mind when Buttons jumped on my lap and cuddled while I read my books in my playhouse. There was no glass and Buttons would go through the window and sleep on the chair when I wasn't around. One time, I smelled skunk as I neared my playhouse. Buttons was lying on the chair, all perfumed up in the worst way. Of course my chair took on the odor. We tried bathing Buttons, but in the end decided to keep our skin and let her clean herself. It tooks weeks before I could go inside and read.In the next photo, the outbuilding behind Johnny was my playhouse. Originally a grainary, it might have been used for a playhouse by the family who lived there before us. About 5'x5', it contained an over-stuffed chair and small bookcase although I can't remember if they were there when we moved in or if my parents moved them there from the house.

Suzie with 9 yr old Johnny in 1969, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Dad brought Suzie home just after we moved to the farm. She was our guard dog and protector and was only let loose during the night. I didn't spend much time with her because I didn't like dog smell. And whenever I petted Suzie on the way to my playhouse, Buttons acted like I betrayed her.Yet I felt safe knowing Suzie was protecting us. Especially after I saw a timber wolf out strolling near the barn one Saturday during the winter. A thick layer of snow already covered the ground and more was softly falling. I looked out the kitchen window and saw the grayish movement on the white landscape. That day was so still, it was eerie. The wolf padded across the snow toward the barn and then behind it. I don't know why Suzie didn't raise the alarm. Within seconds, the wolf appeared on the other side of the barn and kept going toward the west. That's my only wolf sighting to date and I'm fine with not seeing another one that close. I may have been in the safety of the house, but I knew danger when I saw it.What about you? What pets did you have in your childhood? And if you didn't have one, what would you have liked to have?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GIVEAWAY - Winner's Choice!Leave a comment with a valid email address by midnight, May 20th to be entered in a draw for a book from my giveaway pile.If you're the winner, I'll email you the list and you can pick.

The pile contains an assortment of books including inspirationals, mainstream, autobiographies, self-help, devotionals and children's books, all new.And yesterday I added the latest Dean Koontz novel, What the Night Knows, to the pile. Winner beware! I haven't read Dean Koontz, but I understand his books are NOT of the inspirational genre, nor are they for the faint of heart. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~And how did I end up with a Dean Koontz novel? That's a story in itself... If you read Regency, you probably know the works of NYT best selling author, Mary Balogh. Mary and I often travel to meetings of the Saskatchewan Romance Writers (SRW) together. This past Saturday when I stopped to pick her up, she thunked a small suitcase into the back of my van and told me she was running away from home. She was joking. It turned out this generous author was bringing copies of her new hardcover novel, The Proposal, as well as a paperback copy of Dean Koontz' latest novel, What the Night Knows, to give each member in attendance.(Lesson: if you don't attend the meeting, you might miss something great!) I took a photo of Mary signing her own book, and another one with Mary holding her book with the cover facing us. I sent to the later one to Mary, and it now appears on her Facebook page as well as the official explanation of why she's promoting DK. (Hint - she received his in error)

This week we welcome Penny Zeller to Author Memories.

Penny Zeller is the author of several books and numerous magazine articles, which are listed at the bottom of this post.Penny is an active volunteer in her community, devoting her time to assisting and nurturing women and children into a closer relationship with Christ. Her passion is to use the gift of the written word that God has given her to glorify Him and to benefit His kingdom. When she's not writing, Penny enjoys spending time with her family and camping, hiking, canoeing, and playing volleyball. While she is generally a health nut, Penny does have one small weakness: hot tamales (yes, the little red candy kind!)

The Dream HouseBy Penny Zeller

I gazed at the brown and white playhouse with the pointed roof. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it - after all, it even had a crafted railing surrounding its own porch! A narrow white door led to the interior and I let myself imagine what it might be like inside this miniature dreamhouse.

“Do you want to look in the windows?” my dad asked, as if reading my mind. I could only nod. My mouth was wide open, but I couldn’t utter a word.Dad led my mom, sister, brother, and me around the back of the playhouse where two windows, complete with screens, begged me for a peek within them.I looked through the lower window. The miniature house was carpeted with brown carpet, and the builder had paneled the walls in a soft beige color. My imagination went to work deciding where I would put furniture, pictures, writing paper, and toys. If only this was my playhouse! Dad lifted me so I could see inside the top window. An upstairs? I couldn’t believe it! I imagined a rounded staircase… Later I would discover it was a bunk and not an upstairs, but for the moment, I allowed my mind to wander.“They’re selling raffle tickets to win the playhouse. It’s for a good cause,” Dad said, interrupting my thoughts.“Did you buy some?” I asked, my question coming out more like a whispered gasp.“Yes,”Dad said, rubbing his hand along the smooth outdoor brown and white siding.“I’m going to win this for you kids.”

“Eddie, don’t make promises like that,” I heard my mom whisper.

Dad only winked at me and I dared to believe just for a second that he was right.

For the next several days, I couldn’t get my mind off of that playhouse. The possibilities of home ownership at the age of 10 were just too great.

Penny at age 10

Then one day, it happened. A large semi truck from my dad’s employment pulling a forklift drove down our dirt road. And what was strapped to the trailer of the semi? The playhouse!

My heart stopped and the volleyball I had been playing with fell to the ground. I rubbed my eyes. Surely, I was dreaming, as I had so many times before of this moment. (After all, I was known for my daydreams!)

We were a one-income family and my parents didn’t have much money. How then could Dad have purchased enough raffle tickets for us to win? Surely it was a miracle!

Minutes later, I realized it was true and not a dream. I saw the smile on Mom’s face and heard the squeals of my younger brother and sister as the semi truck made its way slowly down the road, down the hill, and into our backyard.

Penny's cousin Katie stands by the dream house shortly after it was won

My imagination knew no limits, especially when it came to the playhouse. It was like a small Swiss chalet with its pointed roof, and it stood proud in our backyard next to the swingset and sandbox. My siblings, cousins, and I moved chairs onto the porch and lounged on hot summer days eating popsicles.

Inside the dream house, Mom hung two chalkboards on the wall for those times when we wanted to play school. (And yes, I was the teacher!) Dad put a desk and some shelves inside where we kept our books, stationery (for writing my stories!), and our special piggy bank fund for the less fortunate children.

My cousins were our neighbors and together we took great pride in our “new home.” We had sleepovers, played restaurant –complete with a drive-thru window and a decorated porch for outdoor dining. We moved our Fisher Price sink and oven into the playhouse to prepare special made-to-order meals (made almost exclusively out of different types of crackers). We girls held special meetings, stayed up all night telling stories during sleepovers while eating a wide array of treats, and hid from our pesky younger brother and boy cousins during the day when they threatened to “torment” us.

Penny, age 10 (center) with her brother, Luke, age 4 (left) and sister Becky, age 7 (right) goofing around with some wigs their aunt gave them.

Many years have passed since those days spent in the playhouse. We no longer have our little dream house, but one thing we do have is all the wonderful memories that were created and won’t ever be forgotten. I now share whose memories with my own children about that day when one of my most-wished-for wishes came true.

Did you have a special place you have fond memories of when you were young? Any secret clubs? Do you have a special place you go to now?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GIVEAWAY!Leave a comment with a valid email address by midnight, May 13th to be entered in a draw for a copy of Penny Zeller's Kaydie. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaydie, Whitaker House, Sep 2011

For the first time in years, Kaydie Worthington Kraemer can breathe easily. Although she is still haunted by memories of her abusive husband, Darius, she takes comfort in knowing the man is dead. Staying with her sister McKenzie and brother–in–law, Zach Sawyer, at their ranch, Kaydie is still wary of men, especially now that she has another life inside of her to protect. As she looks forward to her baby's birth, she builds a protective wall around herself that won't be easy to tear down.

Ranch hand Jonah Dickenson views his boss, Zach, like a brother. He does not, however, envy Zach's new role as a husband. Deserted by his mother at a young age and forever despised and rejected by his own father, Jonah has few close relationships. But there's something about Kaydie that draws him to her and makes him question his decision to remain a bachelor.

When Cedric Van Aulst, an old friend of Kaydie's, comes to town, an unforeseen prospect of marriage arises. Cedric is someone Kaydie trusts. Will she settle for a safe union with him, or can she trust God to guard her heart and her life in the arms of Jonah?

Kaydie is part of the Montana Skies Historical Romance Series from Whitaker House:

Along with her Montana Skies series, Penny Zeller is the author of 77 Ways Your Family Can Make a Difference: Ideas and Activities for Serving Others.

She is also the author of the blog "A Day in the Life of a Wife, Mom, and Author" at www.pennyzeller.wordpress.comwhere she provides weekly doses of inspiration and humor, along with movie reviews from a Christian worldview, and interviews with some of her favorite author friends.